U.S. stock index futures rose slightly in choppy trading on Friday as oil prices climbed, while investors kept a close watch on Sino-U.S. trade talks.Read more ...

10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Here is what you need to know.
China says it did not offer Trump a deal to slash the trade gap by $200 billion. Hours earlier, it dropped an anti-dumping probe into US sorghum imports in a conciliatory gesture as top officials meet in Washington, Reuters says.
Japanese inflation is moving further away from the Bank of Japan's 2% target. Core inflation, which excludes fresh food, rose by just 0.7% in the year to April, down from the 0.9% print in March, Japanese government data showed.
US companies are returning cash to shareholders at a record pace - and that's fueling everyone's biggest...Read more ...

Trump's trade policy is the medicine the US needs, former GM honcho says

DETROIT - President Donald Trump's trade policies could mean short-term pain for Detroit's automobile industry, but his actions are long overdue to restore the U.S. manufacturing base, says former GM vice chairman Bob Lutz. "The exporting of American industry is...Read more ...

10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Here is what you need to know.
China says it did not offer Trump a deal to slash the trade gap by $200 billion. Hours earlier, it dropped an anti-dumping probe into US sorghum imports in a conciliatory gesture as top officials meet in Washington, Reuters says.
Japanese inflation is moving further away from the Bank of Japan's 2% target. Core inflation, which excludes fresh food, rose by just 0.7% in the year to April, down from the 0.9% print in March, Japanese government data showed.
US companies are returning cash to shareholders at a record pace - and that's fueling everyone's biggest...Read more ...

SEOUL, South Korea - Global stock markets were mixed on Friday as U.S. and Chinese officials held a new round of talks seeking to avert a trade war between the world's two largest economies.
KEEPING SCORE: Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.1 percent to 7,781.74 and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.3 percent to 5,604.93. Germany's DAX fell 0.2 percent to 13,091.87. Futures augured a tepid start on Wall Street with S&P futures up 0.2 percent and Dow futures also up 0.2 percent.
ASIA'S DAY: Asian stock markets finished mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.4 percent to 22,930.36 and South Korea's Kospi...Read more ...

China denies it has offered a $200 billion package to slash U.S. trade gap

BEIJING - China denied on Friday that it had offered a package to slash the U.S. trade deficit by up to $200 billion, hours after it dropped an anti-dumping probe into U.S. sorghum imports in a conciliatory gesture as top negotiators meet in Washington.Read more ...

A Trump Official Said China Offered a $200 Billion Cut to its U.S. Trade Surplus. China's Not So Sure

China cast doubt on reports that it had offered to reduce its annual trade surplus with the U.S. by $200 billion through increased imports of American products.
The offer was made during talks in Washington this week as Vice Premier Liu He visited to try to resolve a trade dispute, according to a Trump administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. On Friday, two posts on Chinese state social media disputed the report, and a foreign ministry official said no such offer had been made, to his knowledge.
In a sign that the Chinese government is seeking a conciliatory stance, on...Read more ...

California Winemakers Nervous About U.S.-China Trade Talks

China is one of the top exports for U.S. wine, but last month in retaliation to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, China imposed a tariff on U.S. wine, and other food and agricultural exports.Read more ...

China says it hasn't offered Trump a $200 billion trade surplus cut

A ministry spokesman said that the claims were not true while speaking at a daily news briefing about the ongoing trade talks between the world's two largest economies, according to Reuters.Read more ...

China denies it offered package to slash U.S. trade gap by $200 billion

BEIJING - China denied on Friday that it had offered a package to slash the U.S. trade deficit by up to $200 billion, hours after it dropped an anti-dumping probe into U.S. sorghum imports in a conciliatory gesture as top officials meet in Washington.Read more ...